First introduced during this year’s Frankfurt Motor Show, Jeep’s Cherokee Night Eagle edition is set to go on sale later this week in the UK, where only 350 examples will be made available.
The Night Eagle is based on the Longitude ‘Plus’ mid-trim model and features a sort of dark personality with black styling cues such as the satin-finished gray elements on the front grille-mounted Jeep badge, the fog light frames, the black gloss roof bars and the exclusive 18″ black gloss alloys.
The windows are of course properly tinted, while the body comes in four stylish colors such as Brilliant Black, Bright White, Billet Silver and Granite Crystal.
Inside, UK customers will enjoy a leather steering wheel, exclusive leather upholstery, heated front seats with electric lumbar support on the driver’s seat, Uconnect with 8.4″ screen and sat nav. It’s features like these that make it easier for Jeep to justify the hefty price tag – costs more than your average entry-level Audi Q5 or BMW X3.
Other standard equipment that fights for the Cherokee Night Eagle’s cause includes the nine-speaker sound system with subwoofer, cruise control, dual-zone climate control, electric tailgate, rear parking sensors, automatic headlamps with washer, rain sensing wipers and power folding mirrors.
“Full of style, loaded with equipment and designed to enhance Cherokee’s already strong appeal, the new Night Eagle version is particularly exclusive,” said Damien Dally, head of brand at Jeep UK, before adding that the car will surely “appeal to a whole new group of Jeep customers.”
The engine packs quite a decent punch itself, rated at 200 HP. We’re talking about a new 2.2-liter MultiJet II turbo-diesel unit, mated to Jeep’s nine-speed automatic transmission and Active Drive I 4×4 system. In a straight line, it will reach 100 km/h (62 mph) in 8.5 seconds before maxing out at 204 km/h (127 mph).
As good as that sounds, the previously mentioned Audi Q5 for example is available with a 190 HP 2.0-liter TDI unit and S tronic transmission for basically the same price as the Cherokee Night Eagle – though feel free to make up any funny ‘Dieselgate’ comments regarding the Audi.
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